Janette DuCharme
Janette (who sometimes uses the surname DuCharme) is the vampire daughter of Lucien LaCroix, who is also Nick Knight's master. She has remained close to both down the centuries, though they have not always travelled together. In present-day Toronto, Janette is the proprietor of a nightclub, the Raven, which caters to a mixed human and vampire clientele. DuCharme DuCharme DuCharme DuCharme Character Mortal Life The vast majority of the original information in this article first appeared in Amy Rambow's The Janette FAQ originally written in 1996 and updated many times since then.Janette was born in the eleventh century in France, and worked in Paris as a prostitute for a pimp named Daviau. Her background is uncertain: although he told clients that she was "of noble blood", Janette equally told them that she would be whatever they desired, thus casting some doubt on Daviau's advertisements. She resented the conditions of her life: the pimp who sold her body, the men who used and abused her, and the loss of her friend Anna, a fellow prostitute who was sold into prostitution by her husband for failing to produce children for him and then killed by Daviau when she became pregnantA Fate Worse than Death. Janette was ripe for the change in her existence offered by Lucien LaCroix. Conversion to Vampirism One evening, when her pimp sent her out to find a client, Janette was accosted by a soldier who attempted to rape her. Her resistance caught the interest of Lacroix, who saved her by killing the man and then investigated her background. Discovering that she was a prostitute with an abusive pimp, he offered to bring her across, promising that no mortal would ever touch her again without her consent. He assured her that she could be "so much more than mere nobility".A Fate Worse than Death LaCroix's Family It appears likely that Janette subsequently travelled with LaCroix as his companion and daughter. However, when they were in Paris once again some two centuries later, she met and seduced Nicolas de Brabant, a young crusader back from the Holy Land. She immediately introduced him to Lacroix, who brought him across.Dark Knight (1992 Pilot), Near Death, Dance by the Light of the Moon Nick travelled with Janette and Lacroix for the rest of the Middle Ages. For almost a century, she and Nick were lovers, during which time she had Leonardo paint her portrait as a present for Nick. Upon their separation in the Renaissance,Partners of the Month Janette left her vampire family for a time; and thereafter spent at least portion of her time apart from them, though she returned frequently. Her relationship with Nick has flared and cooled over the centuries, but they have rarely been together without an intimate attitude. Janette in Toronto Janette moved to Toronto around 1975,Black Buddha Pt. 1 according to Lacroix. (There is no independent confirmation of this, and Lacroix may have had reason to lie or exaggerate.). During some or all of this period, she operated a night club, the Raven, which catered to both a human and vampire clientele. Certainly, she was operating the club for at least three years before the start of the series. As a former prostitute herself, Janette had great sympathy for their difficult life, and permitted the women to spend time at the Raven. Indeed, the club operated as something of a sanctuary, since she did not allow entrance to their pimps.A Fate Worse than Death Similar refuge was offered to transient vampires, who were provided with sleeping quarters in the basement of the club.Hunters Subsequent Events In 1995, Janette left Toronto for Montreal. While there, she fell in love with a mortal, Robert McDonagh, and they became lovers. When he was killed, she somehow became mortal herself. Despite becoming guardian to Robert's son, Patrick, she determined to seek revenge for her lover's murder. For this reason, she returned to Toronto in the episode The Human Factor, where she was shot and mortally injured. As Janette lay dying in Nick's arms, he pleaded with her to let him bring her back across. She refused. Crying out in anguish, Nick faced making an instantaneous decision. He could lose her forever by letting her die as a mortal—the fate she wanted, and the one he sought for himself. Or alternatively, he could save her against her own choice by bringing her across. The Human Factor remains among the most controversial and discussed.Its ambiguity has caused several heated debates, with great passion on all sides. Personality .]] Janette is the most enigmatic of the major Forever Knight characters, in part because of her lack of screen time, and in part because of an apparently reticent nature; she does not often talk about herself, and we have seen Nick still strangely uninformedI Will Repay, A Fate Worse than Death, Near Death about her past after 800 years. Until The Human Factor, Janette had always enthusiastically embraced her vampirism -- "I like what I am" -- and mortality has never been something she actively sought. Janette has also always embraced vengeance, her own sense of justice, from DaviauJanette's human pimp in A Fate Worse than Death to Larouche, Robert's murdererThe Human Factor. In the present, Janette has created a society around her, through the patrons, employees, and inhabitants of the Raven. While she has often been seen as the very symbol of the vampire community, concerning herself with that community more than any other character, .]]she has also been kind not only to Nick's mortal friends, but to the mortal prostitutes she has sheltered at the Raven (though she tries to keep her kindnesses firmly behind the scenes). In fact, Janette has almost never been seen alone. She has also expressed a desire to cling to her "homes," once she finds them.Father's Day, The Human Factor Despite mocking Nick's involvement in the mortal world, she interacts with it herself as necessary in the course of her business: Janette supervises the Raven nightly instead of hiring a manager, does her own taxes when she has an accountantCan't Run, Can't Hide, reads newspapers and tracks her competitionBlood Money, worries about inspections and has come to an understanding with the local organized crime groupFather's Day. Janette has shown herself supremely adaptable to circumstances through the centuries, and she seems to consider herself practical and extremely realistic. Above all, Janette is a survivor. Personal relationships In discussing the relationships that Janette has with other characters, one needs to distinguish familial relationships from friends and acquaintances, and professional associates. Nothing is known about Janette's mortal family. However, she has several quasi-familial bonds with other vampires. Vampire Family Janette was originally brought across by LaCroix, making her a vampire sister to Nick Knight and all other of LaCroix's progeny. The controversy surrounding the conclusion of The Human Factor, however, creates ambiguity about Janette's current family status. Assuming her to be alive, then Janette's new vampire master is Nick Knight (formerly her vampiric brother and lover). Through him she is related to his only other known, living vampire "child," Serena.Baby, Baby Many fans believe that it was Janette who brought over the Baroness Sophia in If Looks Could Kill, making her Sophia's master. This has been disputed based on Janette's comments about being a glutton and unable to stop prior to death.I Will Repay Friends and Acquaintances Janette first met Dr. Natalie Lambert in the episode Cherry Blossoms. Although she claims Natalie is not her "friend", she admires her as a "surgeon" and is solicitous of her.A More Permanent Hell, Faithful Followers Janette met Nick's first partner, Don Schanke, in For I Have Sinned, when he came to the Raven to pick Nick up and take him to a crime scene. When he later returned to the Raven and was nearly killed by one of its vampire patrons, she ordered him never to return. Nevertheless, at Nick's request, she offered Schanke shelter in Hunters, when he was threatened by an unknown killer. Furthermore, in Partners of the Month, she commiserated with him when he briefly decided to leave his wife, and was instrumental in persuading him to return to her. Other personal relationships include: *Anna, deceased, a friend from her time as a human, as mentioned in A Fate Worse than Death *Daviau, her pimp when she was mortal *Robert McDonagh, her deceased, human loverIn The Human Factor she says of Robert "I was in love with him." *Patrick McDonagh, the son of her lover, and once her wardIn The Human Factor she says of Patrick "I'm his mother" Professional Associates In her position as the owner of the Raven, Janette's relationships include customer and decorator Alma,For I Have Sinned, Love You to Death bartender Miklos,A Fate Worse than Death, Bad Blood customer Mirah,For I Have Sinned and employee BrianaA More Permanent Hell. Janette's other contacts include Larry Merlin, vampire computer expert,Hunters and Aristotle, who creates false lives for relocating vampiresForward Into the Past. A number of vampires live in the basement of the Raven.Hunters Age and appearance Judging from Deborah Duchêne's appearance, Janette was perhaps 26-30 when brought across in the eleventh century. However, the life of a prostitute was a hard one and may have been responsible for her slightly older appearances. She was probably well under 25 at the time she met LaCroix and was brought across. Thus, she is around 900-1000 years old. She appears to stand 5'8" and weigh around 135 lbs. She has blue eyes and black hair, which she wears in accordance with contemporary trends. However, it has never been seen shorter than shoulder-length.During one of the Dead of Winter convention question and answer sessions, Ms. Duchene indicated that James D. Parriott specifically stated that Janette would always appear with her hair up when inside The Raven. This was countermanded in later episodes by different directors. In flashbacks, Janette always dressed at the height of the era's fashion. In the present, her choices may be explained as appropriate for her situation: she dressed as a "goth" while owner of the Raven and dressed "contemporary casual" when she moved to Montreal. In the first season, Janette wore black almost exclusively. In the second season, she frequently wore red dresses with gold accents. The only exceptions occur when she appears in white in Dark Knight 1 during the flashback scenes, in brown in A Fate Worse than Death, in grey in Near Death, and in white in The Human Factor. Janette almost always wore earrings, frequently wore chokers as owner of the Raven (throughout first season), and was once seen getting a tattoo.Faithful Followers Names and Aliases "Janette" is the only personal name that she is known to have used; and she is usually referred to simply by this name. However, in present day Toronto, she uses the name "Janette DuCharme". Indeed, she used this surname as early as 1228;Be My Valentine but this does not necessarily bear any relation to her mortal origin. In The Human Factor, Janette uses the surname "de Brabant", which is Nick Knight's original mortal surname. Series Information Janette was portrayed by actor Deborah Duchêne. The character appeared in most episodes in the first two seasons of Forever Knight. The actor then left the show; but she did return as a guest in the third season, featuring in one further episode, The Human Factor. The character was also mentioned in two other episodes in Season Three. Episodes of Significance The following is a list of those episodes in which Janette DuCharme plays a role beyond the norm, deepening our understanding of her character. For a full discussion of her role in each episode in which she appears, see Janette's episodes of importance. Fan Activities Factions Followers of Janette are referred to as Ravenettes. In addition, the following factions are devoted to relationships involving Janette in conjunction with one or more other Forever Knight characters: * Immortal Beloveds * Dark Trinity * Seducers * Nanettes Fan Fiction The following works of fan fiction feature Janette prominently among their characters: *A Lamentation, For Strings (archived copy) by Susan M. Garrett *In FK4, Janette appeared as a guest in the third, sixth, and seventh episodes ("Crimson Joy", "Requiescat in Pace", and "Kiss of Death"}. She became a featured character with Episode 11, the seasonal Christmas episode. However, she did not appear in every episode thereafter, and only in flashback scenes. Specifically, she is in "Twelve Nights of Christmas", "The Arcane Art", "Broken Hearts", "Daddy's Girl", "Tangled Web", "Cover Story", and "Chef's Special". Footnotes